1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle mounted wheelchair carriers and, more particularly to carriers accessible to the driver, from the driver seat.
2. Related Prior Art
An ever increasing number of disabled and wheelchair users are traveling in this era. A more responsible society is making most government facilities, as well as the industrial complex wheelchair accessible. Traveling in the company of able-bodied people is relatively easy. Wheelchairs are folded to be placed in the car's trunk, or placed behind the front seat, or in SUVs, or in pickup truck beds.
Many carriers attach at the rear of a vehicle to preserve interior space. Watt in U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,842 offers an enclosed carrier with a ramp to facilitate loading. Some of these rear mounted carriers such as Himel in U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,398 even elevate a wheelchair or scooter to travel height. However, the very disabled and quadriplegic persons must travel in special vans with ramps or power wheelchair lifts.
A unique situation exists for the wheelchair user who retains the command of his or her arm and hand strength. While they may operate their vehicle independently, with the aid of a hand-controller, dealing with the wheelchair becomes their sole responsibility. This person must be able to fold, to lift, and to store their own wheelchair.
Light weight wheelchair chairs with detachable foot rests and detachable rear wheels help make this easier. Considering the automobile, normally all that is economically available to the wheelchair users is 1) the front passenger seat of a car without a center counsel , or 2) the floor space behind the driver's seat, of a two door car.
Yearly changes in the auto size and style make new car choices difficult for this special need. Economy of operation continues to be critical for the wheelchair user who travels.
Two ingenious inventors, Steffes in U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,036 and Kameda in U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,668 both offer a roof mounted device which is applicable to any automobile. These apparatus lift a folded wheelchair vertically away from the drivers door, store it in a waterproof compartment, and present it back at the drivers door, upon request.
Steckler in U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,563 discloses a system mounting in an automobile trunk, which opens the trunk, reaches around the car and telescopes up to the driver's door to pick up a wheelchair, and store it away in the trunk, then to represent it back at the drivers door when requested. These devices use electronic operators and controllers. They require maintaince and are expensive. This limits their availability to the average paraplegic person.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a new and economical low technology wheelchair carrier, easily accessible to the driver, which can be mounted to any automobile.